Lower house strips PM of immunity, opening way for criminal prosecution

The lower house of Parliament has voted to strip Prime Minister Andrej
Babis of his parliamentary immunity, opening the way for prosecution. The
motion was supported by 111 deputies, 69 deputies of the prime
minister's ANO party voted against. Mr. Babis, who is suspected of EU
subsidy fraud, has denied any wrongdoing. He told the lower house on Friday
that the charges against him had been fabricated by the mafia and political
opponents who wanted to remove him from politics. We live in a country
where it is possible to commission criminal charges against someone and
have them thrown in jail, the prime minister noted.